Protonmail.com Biography & Web Analysis

An end-to-end encrypted email service called Proton Mail was established in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2013. Unlike other popular email services like Gmail and Outlook.com, Proton Mail uses client-side encryption to secure email content and user data before they are delivered to Proton Mail servers. Webmail clients, the Tor network, and specialized iOS and Android apps can all be used to access the service.

Proton AG, previously Proton Technologies, with headquarters in the Canton of Geneva, manages Proton Mail. Additionally, Proton VPN, Proton Drive, and Proton Calendar are run by the business. Crowdfunding enabled Proton Mail to get its start-up capital. Even if the initial setup of the account is free, the service is supported by supplemental commercial services. Proton Mail began as an invitation-only service before becoming public in March 2016. By 2022, Proton Mail will have around 70 million subscribers, up from more than 2 million users in 2017.

Proton Mail started its public beta on May 16, 2014. There was such interest that after three days they had to temporarily halt beta signups in order to increase server capacity. Through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo two months later, Proton Mail raised US$550,377 from 10,576 contributors while aiming for US$100,000. Proton Mail's PayPal account was frozen by PayPal during the campaign, delaying the withdrawal of contributions totaling US$251,721. PayPal claimed that the account was frozen because there were questions about whether encryption was legal, claims that opponents claimed were unjustified. The following day, the limitations were lifted.

Proton Mail secured US$2 million on March 18, 2015, from Charles River Ventures and the nonprofit Fondation Genevoise pour l'Innovation Technologique (FONGIT). However, by 2022, the firm had lost all of its venture capital backers. Proton Mail released major version 2.0 on August 14, 2015, which featured a redesigned codebase for its web interface. Proton Mail released major version 3.0 on March 17, 2016, marking the end of Proton Mail's beta phase. Version 3.0 of Proton Mail came with a redesigned web client interface and saw the public release of its iOS and Android beta clients.

A Tor onion site was announced by Proton Mail on January 19, 2017. A zero-access encryption contacts manager called Proton Mail Contacts was unveiled on November 21st, 2017 by Proton Mail. Digital signatures are also used by Proton Mail Contacts to confirm the accuracy of contact information. Proton Mail introduced Proton Mail Bridge on December 6 for Windows and MacOS, an application that adds end-to-end email encryption to any desktop client that supports IMAP and SMTP, including Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Apple Mail.

In order to be compatible with other PGP clients, Proton Mail added address verification and Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) compatibility on July 25, 2018.

The back-source end's code is still locked down. However, Proton Mail made the web interface's source code available under an open-source license. Along with the Proton Mail Bridge software, Proton Mail also made its iOS and Android mobile clients open source. Their entire source code is available on GitHub.

The Coalition for App Fairness, which seeks to improve the terms for the inclusion of their apps in app stores, was founded in September 2020 with assistance from Proton Mail. Additionally, Proton established the Coalition for Competitive Digital Marketplaces, a group of more than 50 European ICT firms that favor open, interoperable, and competitive digital markets.

In order to achieve a uniform design across all of its software, Proton AG redesigned the aesthetics, user interface, and logos of all of its products in May 2022, including Proton Mail. Access to all Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, and Proton Drive are now included with Proton Mail subscriptions.